Some slightly sick Book Foo...
Nov. 29th, 2008 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
newnumber6The sick refers to me, not the books. More later.
Finished: The Courts of Chaos, by Roger Zelazny (reread)
Started: Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
So, finished the series, and to me at least it kinda ends on a weak note. Okay, but the last book's nothing really special.
Finished: Wild Cards, Vol 3: Jokers Wild, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)
Started: Wild Cards, Vol 4: Aces Abroad, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)
Some not terribly spoilery thoughts behind the cut (just general plot descriptions), and a non-spoilery quote.
So this book takes two main threads, a revenge plot from the aftermath of the last volume, and intrigue with gangs who are after a book stolen from a crime lord by a super-powered thief.
This book also takes place on a single day, Wild Card Day of 1986, the 40th anniversary of the Wild Card virus being released. This kind of necessitates a more cohesive plot than in the previous books. Normally, setting a book all in one day isn't that big a deal, but when you've got something like a dozen writers, it becomes a bit trickier. Generally, though, they pulled it off, in part by dropping the 'interconnected short stories' aspect and having it seem as one cohesive whole, with different writers tackling segments focusing on different characters, but no interruptions in the narrative that explicitly say another writer is taking over. There might have been a couple continuity blips where, say, a character knew something I thought they shouldn't have yet, but they were minor (and may even have been caused by me skimming over a part).
On the downside the writing does seem a bit weaker than in previous volumes, uneven and a bit more cliche at times, and some of the dialog sounded bad. Still, I liked it more than Vol 2, and they've still done such a good job building the world that I'm continuing.
And, just a quote selected from the text, which amused me mainly because it just seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. How many times over the past century the quote could have been applied:
"I point out the various accomplishments of these remarkable people because there is a new mood in this country which I find fearsome. There is once again an attempt to delineate what is 'American,', to despise and descriminate against those who exist on the periphery of this fairy-tale 'majority.' And it is a fairy tale. Each person is an utterly unique individual. There is no 'consensus of opinion,' no 'right way' to do things."
So anyway, still sick. Just a cold, but gotten to that point where my sinuses are feeling a little wonky and so I constantly feel a little sleepy even when I'm not (and pardoxically making it harder to get to sleep unless I'm especially tired). Oh well, must marshall my defenses and get the immune system in gear.
Finished: The Courts of Chaos, by Roger Zelazny (reread)
Started: Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
So, finished the series, and to me at least it kinda ends on a weak note. Okay, but the last book's nothing really special.
Finished: Wild Cards, Vol 3: Jokers Wild, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)
Started: Wild Cards, Vol 4: Aces Abroad, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)
Some not terribly spoilery thoughts behind the cut (just general plot descriptions), and a non-spoilery quote.
So this book takes two main threads, a revenge plot from the aftermath of the last volume, and intrigue with gangs who are after a book stolen from a crime lord by a super-powered thief.
This book also takes place on a single day, Wild Card Day of 1986, the 40th anniversary of the Wild Card virus being released. This kind of necessitates a more cohesive plot than in the previous books. Normally, setting a book all in one day isn't that big a deal, but when you've got something like a dozen writers, it becomes a bit trickier. Generally, though, they pulled it off, in part by dropping the 'interconnected short stories' aspect and having it seem as one cohesive whole, with different writers tackling segments focusing on different characters, but no interruptions in the narrative that explicitly say another writer is taking over. There might have been a couple continuity blips where, say, a character knew something I thought they shouldn't have yet, but they were minor (and may even have been caused by me skimming over a part).
On the downside the writing does seem a bit weaker than in previous volumes, uneven and a bit more cliche at times, and some of the dialog sounded bad. Still, I liked it more than Vol 2, and they've still done such a good job building the world that I'm continuing.
And, just a quote selected from the text, which amused me mainly because it just seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. How many times over the past century the quote could have been applied:
"I point out the various accomplishments of these remarkable people because there is a new mood in this country which I find fearsome. There is once again an attempt to delineate what is 'American,', to despise and descriminate against those who exist on the periphery of this fairy-tale 'majority.' And it is a fairy tale. Each person is an utterly unique individual. There is no 'consensus of opinion,' no 'right way' to do things."
So anyway, still sick. Just a cold, but gotten to that point where my sinuses are feeling a little wonky and so I constantly feel a little sleepy even when I'm not (and pardoxically making it harder to get to sleep unless I'm especially tired). Oh well, must marshall my defenses and get the immune system in gear.
